Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking with telecommunications companies to provide IT equipment for people who are isolated, with no access to a phone or computer.

My Department has been promoting the DevicesDotNow campaign, which is working with community organisations to distribute devices to vulnerable adults and help them get online. As part of this, I have also written to a number of industry Chief Executives of organisations to ask them to donate devices and funding to the DevicesDotNow campaign. to help vulnerable and digitally excluded adults.The aim is to enable elderly and vulnerable people, particularly those who are shielding, to communicate with the outside world and get access to vital services.

As part of Government’s response to Covid-19, we have already agreed a package of measures with the UK’s major fixed and mobile providers to support and protect consumers with their connectivity needs. This package was agreed on 29 March 2020, with further companies signing up on 18 May. As part of the commitments, providers have agreed to provide new and generous offers to their vulnerable customers, ranging from free mobile data boosts to free landline calls.